A Thousand Splendid Suns

After more than two years on the bestseller lists, Hosseini's internationally acclaimed novel is now available in paperback. In his masterful follow-up to The Kite Runner, he takes readers back to Afghanistan, presenting events from that troubled country's past—including the Soviet takeover and the rise of the Taliban—as they appear from the perspectives of two very different female characters. Mariam, the daughter of a cleaning woman and a businessman, was born out of wedlock. Married at the age of 15 to a man in his 40s, she experiences a loveless relationship. Laila, who lives with her accomplished, forward-thinking parents in Kabul, is favored by her father but spurned by her mother, who showers affection on her brothers. When Laila meets Tariq, a brave young man who was injured in an explosion, she falls in love for the first time. But the friction between the Communists and the mujahideen make day-to-day living in Kabul dangerous, and soon Tariq and his family move to Pakistan. After a horrifying series of events leads Laila to the home of Mariam and Rasheed, she must make a decision that will change her life forever. The two women develop a special relationship that could only arise in a country ruled by terror. Spanning 30 years of Afghanistan's tumultuous history, this melancholy, beautifully conceived book reinforces Hosseini's reputation as a first-class novelist.